Iran will soon receive a second batch of 20 percent-enriched uranium which has been kept in Russia under the nuclear deal and now will be used at the Tehran nuclear reactor, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization spokesman, said on Saturday.
Under the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Tehran agreed to get rid of medium-enriched uranium and drastically decrease its stockpile of low-enriched uranium. In April, Iran warned that, in the event the United States withdrew from the JCPOA, it would be technically prepared to produce higher-enriched uranium, which it was able to do before the deal took effect.
"When we were inking the nuclear deal, we stopped production of 20 percent-fuel and deposited the excessive fuel in Russia in nearly 10 batches. We received the first batch nearly seven months ago and the second batch is about to be transferred back to Iran. Any of these batches can be used for nearly one year and therefore, we have 20 percent-fuel for Tehran Reactor for at least seven to eight years," Kamalvandi said, as quoted by the Fars news agency.
The official noted that Iran agreed to halt production of uranium on the condition that the fuel will be supplied from abroad.
"If the nuclear deal remains alive, the other sides should sell us the fuel and if the nuclear deal dies, then we would feel unimpeded to produce the 20 percent-fuel ourselves," Kamalvandi added, as quoted by the agency.
US President Donald Trump announced his country's withdrawal from the nuclear deal in May. The other signatories to the deal — Iran, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union — have agreed that the deal needs to be preserved.
On Tuesday, the United States reinstated sanctions targeting Iran's trade in gold and other precious metals, its purchase of US dollars as well as automotive sector. A second batch of US sanctions against Tehran will be reinstated in November.
